There is a pretty common picture of Mr. Clemens standing at a pool table. Anyone know how good he was?

dddd

02-10-2003, 02:41 AM

his speed i do not know
but here is a hint.

part of his requrements for hiring help (butler, valet) was they must be able to play pool
so he must have been dedicated enough to aquire some measure of skill.

landshark1002000

02-10-2003, 03:06 AM

Hi Soygordo:
There's a great Mark Twain site @ Ask Jeeves/Mark Twain/Quotations/B (billiards).
Several photos and lots of other stuff. /ccboard/images/graemlins/wink.gif
-- Ted in Phoenix

Fred Agnir

02-10-2003, 08:07 AM

<blockquote><font class="small">Quote soygordo:</font><hr> There is a pretty common picture of Mr. Clemens standing at a pool table. Anyone know how good he was? <hr /></blockquote>
Somewhere, there's a story that goes along with that photo. Clemens didn't play pool, so the story goes, IIRC. He played billiards. So, when he first stepped up to a pool table, he was a little perplexed. The game was general pocket billiards. After easily breaking and running all 15 balls, he makes some quip about the ease of the pocketed version of the game.

Can you provide the URL for this? Sounds interesting, but I'm unable to find it... Found lots of other Mark Twain &amp; billiards stuff though.

02-10-2003, 09:24 AM

There is a website for Mark Twain's house. I guess it a sort of Mark Twain museum these days. In anycase, there is a picture of Twain's billiard room and the table there most certainly has pockets. There seems to be little distinction between pool and billiards on most the Twain sites I have seen, but perhaps that picture might bring some light to whether Twain was a pool or billiards player. here is the site: Mark Twain House (http://www.marktwainhouse.org/manandhishouse/phototour/billiard.shtml)

Fred Agnir

02-10-2003, 09:49 AM

<blockquote><font class="small">Quote soygordo:</font><hr> There is a website for Mark Twain's house. I guess it a sort of Mark Twain museum these days. In anycase, there is a picture of Twain's billiard room and the table there most certainly has pockets. There seems to be little distinction between pool and billiards on most the Twain sites I have seen, but perhaps that picture might bring some light to whether Twain was a pool or billiards player. here is the site: Mark Twain House (http://www.marktwainhouse.org/manandhishouse/phototour/billiard.shtml) <hr /></blockquote>

I'll have to find it, but it might have been that he played a form of English Billiards (which has pockets). I also know that the table in his house isn't the original, and it itself has been restored. There's also mention that the table he did actually play on was a convertible, whatever that meant in those days.

The famous picture in question (or similar) definitely looks like a form of Billiards (note two white balls and a red, presumeably).

http://www.twainquotes.com/billiards3.jpg

Fred

P.S. I found the story:

http://www.boondocksnet.com/twaintexts/autobiography/mtauto20b.html

nAz

02-10-2003, 11:45 AM

Twain played both pocket and 3c, the table in his home is not the original one. he did used it to entertain and to "think" smack a few balls around while he came up with more brilliant stories and quotes /ccboard/images/graemlins/smile.gif

While attending a billiard tourney on the evening of April 24, 1906, Mr. Twain was called on to speak. He told this story:

THE game of billiards has destroyed my naturally sweet disposition. Once, when I was an underpaid reporter in Virginia City, whenever I wished to play billiards I went out to look for an easy mark. One day a stranger came to town and opened a billiard parlor. I looked him over casually. When he proposed a game, I answered, "All right."

"Just knock the balls around a little so that I can get your gait," he said; and when I had done so, he remarked: "I will be perfectly fair with you. I'll play you left-handed." I felt hurt, for he was cross-eyed, freckled, and had red hair, and I determined to teach him a lesson. He won first shot, ran out, took my half-dollar, and all I got was the opportunity to chalk my cue.

"If you can play like that with your left hand," I said, "I'd like to see you play with your right."

"I can't," he said. "I'm left-handed."

cycopath

02-10-2003, 03:01 PM

Check out the spots on the felt.

02-10-2003, 03:07 PM

A large portion of his biography is dedicated to pool. He talks about several stories about pool and gambling. I think he was a decent player. I found this somewhere on the internet but can't remember the exact site.

Fred Agnir

02-10-2003, 03:15 PM

<blockquote><font class="small">Quote cycopath:</font><hr> Check out the spots on the felt. <hr /></blockquote>

Three spots. Foot, Center, Head. Is that a Billiards Game? Cuz it sure ain't pool.

Fred

Ken

02-10-2003, 05:17 PM

Those spots are not needed in 3C billiards but they would be very useful in straight pool.
KenCT

Scott Lee

02-10-2003, 09:31 PM

<blockquote><font class="small">Quote Fred Agnir:</font><hr> There's also mention that the table he did actually play on was a convertible, whatever that meant in those days.

Fred <hr /></blockquote>

Fred...At the turn of the century, table manufacturers had saturated the saloon, and poolhall markets. They then turned to "convertible" tables, which were marketed to the women in the home, as a dual-purpose table...a pool table, with the dining table removeable top. The marketing strategy was two-fold...keep the men at home to play billiards (rather than tallying off to the saloon or poolhall), and provide a quality dinner table for the home.
Thousands of these tables were sold to "regular folks"...
meaning the more modest people who didn't have a billiard room in their mansions! LOL I believe the average prices in those days was between $50-$100...still quite a princely sum, for the times!

<blockquote><font class="small">Quote Ken:</font><hr> Those spots are not needed in 3C billiards but they would be very useful in straight pool.
KenCT <hr /></blockquote>
Ummm... when's the last time you saw a center spot when someone played 14.1? (And please nobody tell me how and when to use the center spot in 14.1).

Notice please that there are no marks where the rack is either, suggesting that no balls have been racked and broken there. Mark Twain played Billiards. That's a known fact. He did end up playing a little pool later, but he played a form of Billiards first and foremost. I believe it's English Billiards, where there are indeed 3 spots on a 6 pocketed table. Scoring is done by potting, caroming, and cannons. As far as I know, he didn't play 3-Cushion Billiards.

Fred

Paul_Mon

02-11-2003, 12:27 PM

<blockquote><font class="small">Quote Fred Agnir:</font><hr> Ummm... when's the last time you saw a center spot when someone played 14.1?

Fred

<hr /></blockquote>

Fred,
In the PH where I go they play lots of 14.1 and we were just talking about the last time anyone had to use the center spot. Of all the people present and all the games played (probably over 50,000) only twice had anybody remembered using the center spot. Another seldom seen occurence is having to spot balls in front of the foot spot because of no available space to spot between the foot spot and foot rail.